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The Pros and Cons of Studying in LA

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

Image: Photo by Kyle Gregory Devaras on UnsplashIf you are thinking about studying in Los Angeles, you may have a specific reason, such as the fact that the best university for your field happens to be there, or maybe you’ve got family in the state. Chances are, though, it’s just because you like the idea of it. Los Angeles is one of the most celebrated cities in the US. It certainly vies for that title along with New York, with Washington D.C. a distant third purely because it’s the capital, and Las Vegas fourth because of its unique, albeit gaudy, appeal. It wasn’t always like that, though. When the settlers started arriving from Europe in the 17th century, they came to the east coast because that’s what they reached when they crossed the Atlantic.To them, LA was a nameless place on the other side of the country, and it made sense to settle somewhere much closer. Therefore, to move to the west coast was for the hardy and adventurous only. It’s why we still say, “Out west” and “Bac...

Concord man charged with handcuffing, raping developmentally disabled woman for hours in Alameda County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

OAKLAND — A Concord man has been arrested and charged with and raping a developmentally disabled woman over a three-hour time period, court records show.When she tried to resist, he allegedly handcuffed her and told her, “I am your master,” according to the records.Riley Tefft, 25, was charged in late May with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, attempted sodomy by force, and sexual penetration with a foreign object, all felonies, in connection with an alleged Jan. 30 attack in Alameda County. The victim is a woman who knew Tefft and has a developmental disability that gives her the cognitive ability of a child aged 8-13, prosecutors say.To protect the woman’s identity, this newspaper is not revealing the exact location of the attack or how the two knew each other.The woman called 9-1-1 immediately after Tefft left her home in Alameda County to report what had happened. When officers arrived, she was “crying and visibly shaken” and gave a det...

Warriors’ Draymond Green officially opts out, becomes free agent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

It’s official: Draymond Green is a free agent.Green did not pick up the player option in his contract for the 2023-24 season before Thursday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.Green’s decision to opt out has been expected for some time and heated up on June 19 — the same day as new general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s introductory press conference. The Warriors will have a slew of decisions to make, but bringing back Green remains their top priority.“We really want Draymond back,” Dunleavy said that day, echoing head coach Steve Kerr’s comments earlier this offseason.“If Draymond is not back, we’re not a championship contender,” Kerr said in May. “We know that. He’s that important to winning and to who we are.”Since that day, several Western Conference teams have been linked to Green, including the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Maverick...

Sharks update: Karlsson stays put (for now), RFA and UFA decisions loom, Smith’s timeline

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

The San Jose Sharks left the draft table at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Thursday with nine new picks but still faced a handful of questions on the flight home, particularly with NHL free agency on the not-too-distant horizon.While trade rumors surrounded defenseman Erik Karlsson earlier this week, with both his representative and the Sharks working to move him to a more of a Stanley Cup contending team, the three-time Norris Trophy winner was still with San Jose as of late Thursday with no guarantee that a deal would be completed anytime soon.“His timeline where he is in his career doesn’t quite match up with where we are in our process of building this thing back up,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said of Karlsson on Tuesday. “We’ve talked to a bunch of teams. There’s some serious interest, and there’s some people kind of dipping their toe in the water to see what something might look like.”There was also speculation about Kaapo Kahkonen’s future in San Jose, and whether h...

Koch network raises millions to take on Donald Trump

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

By Fredreka Schouten | CNNThe influential network associated with conservative billionaire Charles Koch has collected more than $70 million for political races, the group announced Thursday, as it gears up to help shape the outcome of next year’s contests up and down the ballot and encourage Republican voters to bypass former President Donald Trump in the White House nomination fight.Americans for Prosperity Action has pledged to back a single contender in the GOP presidential primary for the first time in its history. It has not yet announced whom it will support, but the group could dramatically reshape the Republican field by deploying its vast resources and standing army of conservative activists on behalf of a single candidate.The sums raised by the group will help advance those efforts. The lion’s share of the total announced Thursday came from two organizations affiliated with Koch: $25 million from his Kansas-based industrial conglomerate Koch Industries, and another $25 mil...

UCSF security guard charged with stealing $200,000 in Apple devices

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A security guard who patrolled the halls of UC San Francisco’s medical buildings has been charged with stealing $200,000 in Apple devices from the facilities, the city’s top prosecutor announced Thursday.Niyja Anthony Bassard, a 24-year-old Pittsburg man, was arrested last week and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to numerous felony counts of second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft, plus two additional allegations that he accessed a computer system without permission and deleted data.Bassard’s preliminary hearing date will be set July 27. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 15 years in state prison.UCSF police linked Bassard to multiple thefts that occurred between last May and this past month, all involving locations where there was no evidence of forced entry, authorities said.The devices were uniquely configured for use by UCSF’s medical staff and “may have been used for life saving purposes or treatments,” Sa...

Letters: BART recovery | Art’s reflection | Walgreens’ pain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.BART needs fundingto continue recoveryRe: “BART’s desire for money fuels toll hike issue” (Page A6, June 28).I could not disagree more with your editorial admonishing BART.The federal government had provided COVID “handouts” to over 14.7 million recipients amounting to over $2.3 trillion. BART has been severely impacted by COVID with plummeting ridership. During recovery, they need all the assistance they can get to rebuild.It is unconscionable to suggest that BART run fewer trains — inconveniencing people who depend on BART for their livelihoods. Sen. Scott Wiener’s proposal (to increase bridge tolls to support the agency) is appropriate — if it propels people to convert to using mass transit over driving. Except for the Massachussetts-New York-New Jersey area, mass transit in this country is severely lacking. We need to do everything in our power to reverse this tren...

Four-bedroom home sells for $3 million in Palo Alto

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

485 Ferne Avenue – Google Street ViewA house located in the 400 block of Ferne Avenue in Palo Alto has new owners. The 1,765-square-foot property, built in 1956, was sold on June 12, 2023, for $2,988,000, or $1,693 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a garage. There’s also a pool in the backyard and two parking spaces. The unit sits on an 8,030-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:In July 2022, a 2,474-square-foot home on Christopher Court in Palo Alto sold for $3,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,415. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,097-square-foot home on the 4100 block of Middlefield Road in Palo Alto sold in July 2022, for $2,501,000, a price per square foot of $2,280. The home has 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom.On Mackay Drive, Palo Alto, in August 2022, a 1,674-square-foot home was sold for $3,312,500, a price per square foot of $1,979. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

Can’t find affordable housing in the Bay Area? This new tool can help

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

For many people struggling to make ends meet in the Bay Area, how to go about finding affordable housing is anything but clear.Some may get a tip from a social worker or stumble upon a for-rent sign on the side of an apartment building. Others are left scouring online for openings scattered across city websites and listing platforms.“It’s just luck that you find out about it,” said Barry Roeder, a project manager with the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, a regional housing agency. “That’s not exactly equitable.”And even if a renter can track down an affordable unit, they’re often stuck navigating a complicated application process and making sense of a jumble of bureaucratic jargon to figure out if they’re eligible.That’s all keeping an untold number of people from the chance to move into already competitive low- and middle-income housing as the need only gets more dire. More than 207,800 low-income renter households in the Bay...

Letters: Cultural significance | Giants’ glee | Edwards’ lessons | Reusing plastics | Citizens’ obligation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:20 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Removal denies culturalsignificance of the crossRe: “Cross removal riles emotions” (Page A1, June 28).Separation of church and state issues aside, it is always interesting to observe the denial of more than 2,000 years of history in the Western world — as most recently evidenced by the Albany City Council and mayor.In the interest of historical fairness and a broader historical perspective on the subject of crosses and Christianity in general, even Wikipedia affirms the importance of the Christian worldview in articles like “The Role of Christianity in Civilization.” There would likely be no such thing as freedom and national, state or city government as we know it without the cross and Christ.Before the cross and Christ there was no universal concept of freedom and human worth such as we enjoy today. It is culturally shortsighted to deny the importance and display of the cross. G...